NOUN to Graduate 17,420, Including 51 Inmates, at 14th Convocation
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) will be holding its 14th Convocation Ceremony on Saturday, April 12, 2025, where it will be graduating a total of 17,420 students with degrees and certificates.
The graduating class comprises 51 inmates from correctional centers across the nation, which represents NOUN’s commitment to accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerians.
This year’s convocation will take place at the Convocation Arena, NOUN Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja. As is the tradition, the ceremony will be preceded by a convocation lecture on Friday, April 11, 2025. The lecture is to be delivered by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President, African Development Bank, and is expected to focus on development, education, and empowerment in Africa.
NOUN has continued to be at the vanguard of open and distance learning in Nigeria, enabling individuals from all walks of life — among them those in remote communities and prisons — to receive quality education. Among the 51 graduating inmates this year are those on NOUN’s special inmates’ education programme, where the convicted criminals are permitted to continue academic aspirations within prison.
NOUN Vice-Chancellor Prof. Olufemi Peters, in previous convocations, restated the vision of the institution, which was closing educational inequalities and empowering the disfranchised. Today’s convocation is another benchmark in that perpetual process.
In previous years, NOUN has done the same through prisoner education: 58 inmates graduated in the 12th convocation of 2023 and 25 in the 11th convocation of 2022. With these efforts, NOUN has been at the forefront of education reform and Nigeria’s correctional system rehabilitation.
